Cold hands and feet

[KathDK]

Hello everybody

I’m 6 weeks into the keto diet and my hands and feet are sometimes very cold and when I eat a meal they get warm again.

I eat 2 meals a day but could it be due to a slow metabolism and too few calories?

Hope you guys can help

[devhammer]

Could be too few calories, in which case, try adding fat.

The other thing is to make sure you’re getting enough salt. And if you’re not using iodized salt, make sure you are getting sufficient iodine from some source. Getting cold can also indicate low thyroid activity.

[brownfat]

I have a bad version of this called Raynaud’s syndrome where my hands and feet can become disturbingly discolored and painful. At its worst it would lead to skin/tissue damage and persistent sores. But it’s mellowed a lot over the past couple of years of eating keto, improving metabolic health and increasing capacity for exercise.

Our bodies prioritize providing heat and energy for core needs such as heart and brain and can restrict blood flow in our limbs and especially our hands and feet. Anything impacting metabolism such as metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance & hyperinsulinemia or other hormonal issues like adrenal insufficiency or thyroid problems can reduce energy availability making our body more likely to engage this energy prioritization system. Poor fitness, especially impairment of the heart, lungs and circulatory system can impact energy distribution and contribute to loss of circulation to the hands and feet.

Weight loss by cutting calories or fasting is a mixed bag. Long term it is important for good metabolic health but in the short term can cause metabolic slow down. Exercise has largely been debunked as a means to weight loss, but it is useful for minimizing the metabolic impact of weight loss through diet. In addition to the potential long term benefits of improving fitness I find exercise is often immediately helpful. Anything that quickly gets my heart rate up typically brings relief to my hands and feet. My favorite is just dropping slowly into a low squat and back to standing. I’m not in particularly good shape so just a minute or so of this is enough to get my heart going.

[rkd999]

First, please confirm that your objective on a keto diet is weight loss. (Although many people adopt a keto diet for weight loss, other people adopt it for other purposes.) Knowing what your objective is could help with what course to take.

Below is a previous post (found by using the search capability on this board, click on the link to read Carl’s full post)

I'm cold all the time!

When we are short on calories - the heating is one of the first things we shut down. In the early days when you’re not really efficient at moving energy from body fat to energy consumers … you can get a slight shortfall in energy. Try eating just a teaspoon of coconut oil, or even butter. Some of the fats in those require very little processing and are turned into energy very easily. If you find like 15 mins after eating a teaspoon of a simple fat like that, that you warm up all of a sudden …

It is my understanding that fats such as coconut or MCT oils are processed quickly by the body (vs. other types of fats). So you may get a quicker response consuming coconut or MCT oil vs. other types of fats.

If your objective is weight loss, consuming additional fat will slow your weight loss. You’ll need to balance your comfort level (of being cold) vs. the rate of weight loss. An alternative to eating additional fat to resolve the issue is to use a blanket/throw to conserve heat or wear additional clothing.

[J_A-M]

If your objective is weight loss, consuming additional fat will slow your weight loss.

I’m going to add my clarification to this quote in that, fat should be eaten to satiety. It is difficult to overeat fat without feeling ill and there is not a strict fat macro that will magically fix you to what you think your ideal body is supposed to look like. So, please, try adding fat and upping your sodium intake to see if that helps with the cold extremities.

[brownfat]

An alternative to eating additional fat to resolve the issue is to use a blanket/throw to conserve heat or wear additional clothing.

That’s what my doctors told me to do. Keep my core warm. They also had told me to eat less fat, especially saturated fat and salt. Once I came to the realization that doctors often play a childish game of saying exactly the opposite of what they mean I realized I was supposed to cold shock myself deep to my core. I mostly do this by taking cold water baths. While it is momentarily breath takingly unpleasant the result for me has been amazing. I come out quite energized and my tolerance for cold is so much better.

[mtncntrykid]

That is impressive. I don’t know if I could go that far. I’m afraid the shock to my system would spike my heart rate “to the moon” and I might never see it again.

[In2steam]

beiging out that white fat I would image as well.

[jewel]

I have Raynaud’s syndrome too, mine is the hereditary type it runs in the family. So far it is my hands and nose mostly affected. It can be 50-60 degrees out and I have to wear gloves when outside. I use a heater at my desk at work throughout the year since I am also, really cold natured. If my electrolytes get out of balance I get cold even faster. Exercise and trying to get enough sleep, plus Keto seem to be good for it though.